Adventures in Dyeing
by cakessan
Summary: Shima is looking for a new look to mark a fresh start at True Cross, but he need a little help from an old friend...


Shima ruffled his hair thoughtfully, frowning at his reflection.

_New school. New town. New girls to impress_.

This wasn't going to cut it. He flopped back onto his bed and absently flipped through the magazine that he'd bought that morning. Boy band members and models and actors posed and pantomimed for the camera. He spent a few minutes drawing vengeful mustaches on some of the best-looking ones before getting down to business.

Namely, finding himself a new hairstyle.

_My chin is too pointy for that one. Do I want to shave some it? But then the upkeep – I can't possibly wake up early like Bon. Wow, Bon could __**totally**__ pull that one off. Oh, and that one. He's also tall enough to get away with this long one… _

He frowned and glared at the laughing actor before aggressively flipping the page.

_Something cool, something cool… _

"Shima?"

He jumped and stuffed the magazine under his pillow as quickly as he could. "Y-yeah?"

"Can we come in or are your hands full?"

"Ahaha." He opened the door, unamused as Bon and Miwa tried not to laugh. "Can I help you with something?"

"He was definitely doing _something_." Konekomaru noted straight-faced.

"You're right. We should investigate." Bon grinned and the two of them pushed past him into his dorm room.

Renzou rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw, but closed the door anyways. "I was just… organizing."

"His hand lotions, probably." Ruiji called from the bathroom.

Miwa was standing in front of the three unpacked boxes and frowning. "It definitely wasn't anything _useful_."

"Are you guys finished criticizing me?" He whined, curling up on his bed. It _was_ a bit hurtful. His friends joined him, both looking appropriately apologetic.

"What _were_ you doing?" Bon raised an eyebrow, unwilling to let it go. Why was he always trying to get to the bottom of everything? Shima felt a pang of resentment, but it disappeared almost immediately. At least it meant that he cared.

"I was-uh… looking at- I mean, trying to find something to do with my hair." He awkwardly sat up, scratching his nose and pulled the magazine from under his pillow.

Koneko looked over Bon's shoulder with mild interest as the tall boy flipped through it, rolling his eyes at the mustaches. "Did you find anything you like?" He asked, grinning as he showed Miwa a particularly ridiculous boy band.

"Not really." Shima shrugged.

Bon looked up sharply and frowned, and Shima looked away awkwardly. He didn't like being scrutinized like that. It made him… self-conscious. He picked up a manga from the end of the bed to fiddle with it. Anything to distract-

"Koneko, are you going to the dorm orientation?"

"I promised I would help out."

"Too bad. We'll meet you for dinner then."

Shima looked up just in time as Bon snatched the manga from his hands. "I'm taking this loser to get his hair done."

-""-""-""-

"But it's for _women_."

"It's for _getting your hair done_, you idiot."

Renzou stared at the fancy salon sign and gesticulated pointlessly, opening and closing his mouth a few times. But from the expression on Suguro's face, he knew that there was no way out. Bon would probably pick him up and carry him in, and that would be unimaginably more humiliating.

He whimpered as Bon opened the door, grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

"Good afternoon!" The woman who greeted them beamed. "How can I help you?"

"Do you have time for two walk ins?"

Shima blinked and stared at Bon.

"Let me just check." She smiled and moved off into a jungle of chairs, scissors and strips of tin foil.

"T-two?"

His friend rubbed the back of his head, looking a little grumpy. "I've wanted to get my hair done for ages, but mum wouldn't let me." He growled. "And we're here. I won't have time once school starts. Plus, it's more fun when we do things together."

"We can see you both!" The cheery lady returned. "If you'll just follow me…"

-""-""-""-

"P-pink?! Wh-why pink?" It was a squeak.

"It's going to look really cool. I promise. If you don't like it, I'll dye it right back. But your hair is long enough that we can just to the tips and have a fade. Plus, you have amazing bone structure." The lanky boy behind him sniffed, grabbing his chin and tilting it to the side as he studied Shima in the mirror.

Renzou couldn't help feeling a little flattered.

"You have _fantastic_ skin."

_What did he say his name was? Oka-no-Oshiro? Oshiro. Yeah. _

"Thanks." Shima looked away from the mirror awkwardly. "So, uhm, pink?"

"Pink." Oshiro said firmly, running a hand through his hair. "Your boyfriend will love it."

Renzou died a little inside. "He's not my boyfriend. And that's not really my thing."

"Oh my _goodness_." His hairdressed clapped his a hand to his mouth, mortified. "I'm so sorry- I just- I assumed- I'm sory."

He was so devastated that Shima had to sit him down and get the receptionist to revive him with a glass of water. Eventually, he recovered, and Shima – despite himself – had been seriously considering his suggestion. He could always just dye it back if he didn't like it…

"So, just the tips?" He asked dubiously.

"Just the tips. It will look _amazing_. All the _girls_ will love it."

-""-""-""-

Bon was grinning.

"What do you think?!" Shima practically shook him. All he had done was stand there and grin for an uncomfortably long time.

His friend raised a hand and fiddled with the pink tips, then ran a hand through his floppy hair. Renzou winced. It felt kind of… nice. Different then the light touch of his hairdresser. There was something weirdly intimate in it, and he suddenly felt himself blushing. Flustered, he pushed Bon's large hand away.

"So?" He asked quietly.

"Looks great. Girls love pink." Ruiji laughed, leaning on his shoulder. "What about mine?"

"Looks _terrible_." Shima groaned dramatically. "Just _awful_."

"That great, huh?"

They both burst into laughter and started walking back to the Academy. Shima glanced sideways at his friend, who was playing with the freshly bleached stripe on his head and smiling to himself.

"Can I touch it?"

Bon stopped, looking confused until he realized that Renzou was talking about his hair.

"Sure." He bent down a little.

Shima couldn't for the life of him understand why he would _think_ that, much less voice it, but it was too late now.

It was… fluffy. And soft, despite being bleached. And it smelt really nice.

"I hope mum doesn't kill me." He muttered as they stepped away from one another.

"Y-yeah." The blushing was the most confusing part. Renzou absently ran a hand through his hair, wondering if the Academy food was drugged.

"I know that we won't have a lot of free time, but I'm glad we did something before school started."

"_You_ won't have a lot of free time. We're not all as hard-working as you are." Shima reminded him with an amused smile.

Bon frowned, as if he was about to give him a lecture, but seemed to think better of it and shrugged. "And not all of us are as great with girls." He said finally.

It made him smile.

_New school. New town. Old friends._

After all, that was what really mattered…


End file.
